St Kevin’s

Boys Club
 First published 2009

St Kevin’s Boys Club

Larkhill Road Extension
Whitehall Dublin 9
Phone: 01 837 4411
Website: www.skbfc.com

© St Kevin’s Boys Club

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may
be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form
or by any means,
electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording
or otherwise without
prior permission in
writing from St Kevin’s
Boys Club.

Photographs:
St Kevin’s Boys Club, Gerry Murtagh, Paul Dolan, Sinead O’Callaghan, Mick Quinlan, Patsy Brown,
Derek Bauer, The Evening Herald, The Daily Star, The Derry Journal, Billy Strickland and Sportsfile

Book Design, Photography, Scanning and Retouching by:

The Black Mountain Design Company, 65 Strand Street, Great, Dublin 1. Tel. 01 8734 322

Printed by: Hudson Killeen, Ballycoolin Business Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15

Acknowledgments
Writing a book such as this is a partnership between many people.
Sincere thanks are due to all the authors who put pen to paper. Hopefully the final product does
justice to their efforts.
The family of the late Bobby Redmond along with John Kelly and Frank Loftus kindly supplied many
of the older photographs and newspaper clippings used throughout the book.
The more recent photographs were supplied by Gerry Murtagh, Paul Dolan, Sinead O’Callaghan,
the Evening Herald, the Star and Derry Journal.
We greatly appreciate the support of our advertisers (and Mrs M Heffernan) in offsetting some of
our costs.
A huge debt of gratitude is owed to Michael O’Callaghan and Dermot Wilkins for their efforts in
getting this publication over the white line.
St Kevin’s Boys Club
One of the very first teams

St Kevin’s
Boys Club
 Contents

1 The first fifty years: an overview 12

by Michael O’Callaghan

2 A view from the outside 34

by Eamonn Scott

3 The great teams of St Kevin’s Boys 40

by Billy McCormac and Michael O’Callaghan

4 Selected for International duty 50

List of players who served St Kevin’s and Ireland

5 Virtual teams for a virtual match 52

by The Secret Selectors

6 St Kevin’s Academy and our cross-channel links 58

by Ken Donohoe

7 Participating in the Foyle and Milk Cups 64

by Ken Donohoe

8 FA I Carlsberg Cup 2001/02 70

by Paul Dolan

9 Heroes all 76
by Michael O’Callaghan and Dermot Wilkins

10 Training in the Assembly Hall 84

by Stephen Walsh

11 Playing the field 88

by Des Lawlor

12 Memories of St Kevin’s Boys 92

by John Kelly

13 Impressions of Kevin Behan 96

by Michael O’Callaghan

14 Fifty years with the same club 98

by Michael Quinlan

4
St Kevin’s Boys Club

15 Let’s start a club 102

by Des Williams, Auxillary Bishop of Dublin

16 The St Christophers 104

by Derek Bauer

17 Camping under canvas and indoors 110

Terry Duignam and Des Havelin

18 The Road Leagues 116

by Brendan Bermingham

19 The Mini Leagues 122

by Brendan O’Callaghan

20 Building the Clubhouse 1981 - 83 128

by Brian Reid

21 Our new pitch opens 2002 130

by Ciaran Heffernan

22 The Luke Kelly Festival 132

by Pat Daly

23 The Foley Perspective 134

by Derek Foley

24 The Dallas Cup 138

by Joyce Moore

25 A woman’s view 142

by Jan Quinn

26 A modern appraisal 146

by Robert Harvey

27 The Crew - past and present 150

The Board, Club Officers and Managers

28 All the young dudes 152

Listing of current players

5
6
The words on the opposite page taken from the St Kevin’s Boys club prayer, aptly describe the
dedicated work that has been undertaken by so many officials and mentors in the club for the
last fifty years.
This book was written so that as many as possible of those who worked so unselfishly in the
club might have their contributions recognised. By its voluntary nature a club such as ours
has a steady flow of adult helpers. We have tried to include as many names as possible, but
inevitably some names will have been omitted. For this we apologise but we trust that the
enjoyment achieved in working for the club will be its own reward.
The book is based on the recollections of a number of senior members who met in 2008. These
meetings were augmented by interviews with some more of the ‘old guard’. An overall picture
emerged from these sources which led to the general history as outlined in chapter 1. In the
other chapters a number of club members volunteered to record their reflections on specific
topics of the club’s history based on their own experiences. In adopting this approach it was
hoped to include mention of the maximum number of names from the past.
The club would like to express its sincere gratitude to all those, named and unnamed, who
have given their time and effort to the club over the last fifty years. In particular we thank the
administrators and managers without whom there would have been no history. The authors
who contributed articles also deserve great praise for their work. Sincere thanks are also due
to the editorial group who collated the articles, supplied and selected the photographs and
prepared the book for the design team. In particular great work was done by Dermot Wilkins
and Michael O’Callaghan to bring the book to a conclusion.
Ó bunaíodh an club seo ‘St Kevin’s Boys’, ba fhoinse iontach é chun maitheasa i measc aos óg
Fionnbhrú agus an cheantair máguaird. Bhain, ní hamháin na céadta, ach na mílte daoine óga
taitneamh as oícheanta gan áireamh, ag traenáil is ag foghlaim ceird na peile. D’imríomar
iliomad cluichí agus thugamar a lán turas in Éirinn agus thar lear.
Níos tábhachtaí fós, spreag an club na daoine óga chun na cluichí a imirt sa spiorad cheart agus
ag smaoineamh i gcónaí ar Chothrom na Féinne.
Chabhraigh an club leis na daoine óga a n-áit a thógáil sa tsochaí agus iad ag fanacht dílis do
phrionsabail na mbunaitheoirí.
Tá creidiúint iontach ag dul do na bunaitheoirí céanna agus dóibh siúd a tháinig ina ndiaidh.
Is fíor an ráiteas “Má tá an méid seo feicthe againn, is de bharr a bheith ag seasamh ar ghuaille
fathach”.
Tá súil againn go mbainfidh sibh aoibhneas as an leabhar seo agus go músclóidh sé ionaibh
smaointe taitneamhacha, anois agus sna blianta atá romhainn amach.
The club has been a great source of good in the local area and in football in general. In seeing
beyond the football side of the club it has helped so many of our young members to take their
place in society. For this a debt of gratitude is due to the founding fathers and to their
successors down through the years.
Enjoy this publication. Hopefully it will bring back many happy memories of so many sporting
and social occasions but especially of so many outstanding people. They say that a good start
is half the battle. We have had a decent run at the first fifty years, here’s to the next fifty!

7
8
 Liam Brady poses for the camera
in St Kevin’s Boys colours!

As a boy growing up in Whitehall, St Kevin’s Boys was a huge part of my

life. My recollection is of being involved with the club since I was around
nine years of age. The older boys I knew joined up when the club came
into existence and I couldn’t wait to join the club and play organized
football. The people at the club were first class and did a remarkable job
of giving young boys a huge interest in the game of football.

We were lucky to have as our manager Mr Des Lawlor who loved the game
and soon put together a squad of players that was the envy of every club
in Ireland. We dominated schoolboy football winning many trophies
- the highlight was winning the All Ireland Cup at Under 15.

I have had such a happy career in professional football for the last 37 years
and I am immensely grateful for the care and coaching I had in my
formative years - from 9 till 15 - at St Kevin’s Boys.

As Head of Youth Development at Arsenal I have come to realize that

you give young boys the passion and love of skill of football at a very early
age. St Kevin’s gave me that and it has served me well through all these
years.

I am very proud that St Kevin’s is my club and I wish them continued

success. I congratulate the club on its service to the community and
to Irish football over the last 50 years.

Liam Brady

9
 T HE F OOTBALL
A SSOCIATION OF I RELAND

It gives me great pleasure to wish St Kevin’s Boys all the best in this, the
club’s 50th anniversary year. St Kevin’s Boys is one of the largest
schoolboy and junior football clubs in the country and has played a vital
role in nurturing some of our greatest talent, players like Damien Duff,
Stephen Carr, Ian Harte, Alan Maybury and Liam Brady.

Much of the club’s success is down to the excellent structures, good

governance and high standards of coaching put in place by its Board of
Directors and sub committees. And while this dedication to the game
has led St Kevin’s Boys to many achievements over the past half century,
the future is equally bright.

The fact that St Kevin’s Boys now has over 900 people involved, between
players, coaches and administrators across 40 teams really speaks
volumes about a club that is planning for the future by focusing on the
development of young players. All of the volunteers involved in running
the club, over the past fifty years deserve huge praise and recognition
for their good work in building and maintaining such a successful club.
Well done on making it through your first 50 years and good luck
for the next 50!

David Blood

President
Football Association of Ireland (FAI)

10
The first fifty years:
an overview
Michael O’Callaghan
Life in and around 1959
It is difficult to comprehend how different life was in Ireland in the late 50s and early 60s.
The rate of change has been astounding as highlighted by some of the following reflections.
Communications were very different. Only about 5% of people had a home telephone and
making calls from work was outlawed. You had to get an old many-sided three penny bit and a
coin box that worked and press button A (or was it button B?). The club used to notify players of
training or match changes by writing to them and sending the card by post. Many of the older
managers recall walking or cycling on a Friday night to such far flung outposts as Finglas or
Ringsend to tell their players that the match the following day was at an earlier time.
Most families did not have cars. This meant that teams would
meet at the ‘lights’ (the intersection of Collins Avenue and
The Swords Road) or UCC (under Cleary’s clock) for their away
match. The trip to Sallynoggin was a nightmare. Meet at 10
am and get the bus into town. Then walk to the quays to get
the bus to the Noggin. Arrive after 12 noon and kick off at 12.30
or so. Then the bus back to town. Some of the players had to
be walked to the 41 bus stop while the others had to get the
number 3 or 16. Arrive home at four or four thirty, tired and
exhausted and maybe even beaten. The buses had conductors
to collect the fares and open platforms that you could jump
on and off while the bus was moving.
Televisions hardly existed and if they did they were in black
and white. The picture was poor as it came from an aerial on the chimney of each house. There
was no such thing as SKY or live matches on the TV. RTE did not broadcast a television service
until 1961 and Match of the Day did not exist until 1964.
None of the local secondary schools existed. Many students left school after doing their one and
only state exam, the Primary Cert which was taken at the end of sixth class. If they wanted to go
on to secondary school they had to travel into town to find a school. Whitehall church was only
newly built (1957) and there was still a blacksmith in Santry village. There were no motorways
or dual carriages; the road in front of the church was the main Dublin to Belfast road. McCairn’s
Motors occupied the site where Omni Park now is and a motor assembly plant was based in the
Garda depot opposite our club pitch. Ellenfield Park was recently converted from allotments
where people grew vegetables, hence its nickname as the ‘plots’.
Some of the more noteworthy happenings in 1959 were: the first Barbie doll was sold, Fidel
Castro took over in Cuba, Alaska and Hawaii became States in the U S , Paul McGrath and Simon
Cowell were born, Buddy Holly died in a plane crash, the Soviet Union spacecraft LUNA 2 was the
first man made object on the moon (it crash landed), the first photocopier was made by Xerox,
Sean Lemass became Taoiseach (and the government ‘considered’ bringing in PAYE tax!), the first
female Gardai were appointed (one of whom was from Ellenfield), Waterford beat Kilkenny in
the All Ireland hurling final and Kerry beat Galway in the football, St. Patrick’s Athletic won the
FAI cup while Shamrock Rovers won the League of Ireland, Wolverhampton Wanderers won the
English first division and Nottingham Forest won the FA cup.
Meanwhile in Ellenfield Park some young boys were playing football and a young priest was
taking a walk.

13
 St Kevin’s Boys
Under 14 Team
1960-61 Season

The foundation
In the early spring of 1959 Fr Des Williams was the chaplain to the nuns in High Park convent.
Legend has it that as he walked through Ellenfield Park he noticed that there no soccer
goalposts. This suggested to him that there was not a lot of organised football being played.
He noticed some lads kicking around and asked them who they played for. They told him there
was no team or club in the area. Amongst these lads were Kevin Osbourne, Mick Quinlan,
Mick Smullen, Brian and Andy McSweeney and Sean Smith.
A meeting was arranged for Sean Smith’s house. Initially it was intended to name the club
Beaumont Celtic (as many of the players were from the Beaumont area). At the first meeting
Fr. Williams suggested that Beaumont was too narrow a focus and his original proposal was to
name the new club St Lawrence O’Tooles Boys or St Kevin’s Boys. The first decision was made!
Initially the club played in yellow short sleeved jerseys which were loaned from the High Park
altar boy’s side. The original team was under 13 and was managed by Fr Williams and Peter
Bennett. The first match was played against a team of altar boys from St. Nicholas of Myra
near Francis Street. This team was managed by John Hyland and ‘Luger’ Murphy. The former
was very involved in later years with the inauguration and development of the St Francis club.
At that time the altar boys had a league for themselves. The St Kevin’s team, captained by
Sean Smith, got off to a flying start winning the first match 9-0.
Fr. Williams wanted a distinctive colour for the club. With that in mind he went into Kingston’s
in O’Connell Street and selected a tangerine set of jerseys. He bought a single pair of black
shorts from Kennedy and O’Brien’s in Frederick Street. As times were tough and money was in
short supply he bought a bale of black cloth and asked Mrs Smith to make copies of the pair of
shorts he had bought.
During the summer of 1959 application was made to the Dublin and District Schoolboys
league. The team was given a place in the 13C league. The first competitive match took place
in September 1959 against Blackburn Rovers (the Dublin schoolboy side) in Ellenfield Park.
Details of this match are given elsewhere in this publication.
In the early years the club was totally based in Ellenfield Park. However gaining entry to the
dressing rooms was proving difficult as they were exclusively the preserve of the local GAA

14
 St Kevin’s Boys Club
Celebrat ing 50 Years 1959 - 2009

club. Despite numerous requests and letters of application the matter was not being resolved.
In a tactical masterstroke Fr Williams, who was not based in the parish, appointed Fr George
Sullivan (who was based in the parish and was reputed to say mass in fifteen minutes) as the
club chaplain. Fr George also had a role with the local GAA club. The combined pressure of
both clergy men and their Archbishop, John Charles McQuaid, along with a number of meetings
with Dublin Corporation officials, soon brought matters to a head. Goalposts were erected and
the pavilion was to be shared.

The Shanowen connection

Around about 1960 Pat Gilsenan (who lived on Larkhill Road and later on Collin’s Ave.) was
involved in the local church. He approached another church helper, Maurice Coffey, to assist
him in managing a football team in Shanowen. This team played their home matches in the
Catholic Youth Clubs (CYC) league in Ellenfield Park.
Circa 1961 Maurice Coffey, Kevin Scully and Fr Williams organised the Parish road leagues
during the summer. At that stage Lar Madden, Pat Hurney, Jack Bracken, Hugh LeBlanc and
Frank Loftus had become affiliated to Shanowen. Also involved in St Kevin’s at that time were
Jack Smith, Peter Troy and the very youthful John Kelly and Brian Halpin (both of whom had
seen service with Home Farm (to their eternal shame!). Other managers in the early years
included Ken O’Brien (the egg man), Mr. McGuinness (from Glenaan Road) and Jimmy Dixon
(from Glencloy Road).

St Kevin’s Boys
Under 14 Team
1960-61 Season
Left to right Standing:
Andrew McSwiney,
David Loughran,
Bernard Troy,
Peter Heffernan,
Paul White and
Patrick Kelly (Trainer)
Left to right in Front:
Sean Smyth,
Brian McGinn (Capt.)
Brendan Dornan,
Patrick Ormsby,
Brian Kenny and
Desmond Shaw

It was soon realised that two clubs sharing the same grounds was not the best arrangement.
In 1963 Shanowen and St Kevin’s amalgamated with the players and mentors coming under the
name of St Kevin’s Boys. By that time the club was running about ten teams, with two sides at
each of under 13, 14, 15 16 and 17s.

15
 Names from the early days
Jack Smith (father of Sean(y) Smith) was the first chairman. Peter Bennett was a most
assiduous treasurer. Legend has it that at an early committee meeting he spent from 10.30
p.m. to 11.00 pm. in almost darkness trying to balance the books to the last six pence!
Fr Williams, who was later to become Bishop Williams, was a guiding light and wrote the
constitution on which the club still relies for its ethos. It was he who promoted the concept of
providing football for all, irrespective of their ability. To this day we are almost alone of the
higher profile clubs in the schoolboy leagues who encompass this concept.
One of the best remembered players from the early days was Frannie Swan who joined in 1960.
His sister was married to Jimmy Ingle (of the famous boxing family). Jimmy is remembered as
one of the first coaches, as opposed to managers, in the club. He introduced a board with
markers to show positions and was the first to start discussing tactics. From his boxing
experience he also introduced great discipline and revolutionary training devices such as a
medicine ball.
In the early days Paddy and Willie Dunne were managers who pioneered skipping ropes.
Paddy was a city councillor who later went on to become Lord Mayor of Dublin. As the 1960s
progressed a steady stream of stalwarts joined the club. These included Tom Byrne, Jack Loftus
(who later went on to the Amateur League) and Alex O’Reilly. Noel Whitehead can still recall
Tom Byrne (who was one of the most kind and gentle people you could ever meet) wiping tears
of disappointment from his young eyes in 1962 or 63 after a particularly unexpected defeat.
By the mid ‘60s the managers included Lar Madden and Con Flanagan, Bobby Worrell and
Arthur Sparks, Mick Quinlan and Tom Byrne (Jr), Willie Mooney and Joe Carrick along with
Tommy Sneyd and Barney Dowler. Con Flanagan is attributed with being the first of our
managers to seek out and attend coaching courses. At that time such courses were very rare
and there was no encouragement from the club or from the FAI to attend such courses.

St Kevin’s Boys
Team
1964-65 Season
Back row left to right:
Popper Anderson,
Tom Byrne,
Tom Moore,
Noel Garland,
Brian Halpin and
Gerry Graelan
Front row left to right:
Sean O’Neill,
Mick Quinlan,
Paddy Horgan,
Jeff Breen and
Brendan McDonnell

Training
In the early days all the club’s activity took place in Ellenfield Park (then known as the ‘plots’).
This included matches, training and committee meetings.
Training could not take place in the heart of the winter. As a result teams did not see each
other from match to match. This meant that teams had to be notified by post about the
following week’s fixtures. Frank Loftus recalls his father (Jack) writing out cards for every
player in the club. These were made out from the fixtures in the paper on a Tuesday. The
players were told the time to meet in Ellenfield for home games or at McBirneys on the quays
for away games.
Even in the early days there was always a danger of players being poached, especially by our

16
 St Kevin’s Boys Club
Celebrat ing 50 Years 1959 - 2009

near neighbours in blue and white hoops. Des Lawlor recalls that in 1960 or 61 himself, Willie
Nolan, Billy Kelly, John Kelly and Peter Troy gathered together and hid in the bushes in the park.
Their objective was to run Paddy Mulligan (who at the time was suspected of inviting players
to join Home Farm) out of town. It speaks well of his athleticism that they did not catch him!
In the mid 60s the club got the use of the Parish Assembly Hall in Larkhill. This was available
only on one night of the week, namely Thursday. Every team in the club trained in the hall,
even when we had about forty teams in the late 70s and early 80s. At this stage we had
progressed from no training for part of the year to one session of 45 minutes once a week.
Details of the crack and camaraderie that arose from such sessions are reported elsewhere by
Stephen Walsh.
Originally it was forbidden for teams to leave the hall. However in later years we spread our
wings and would undertake runs to such far flung places as Fairview and back. It is widely
rumoured that certain Ellenfield players would stop off at home on the outward leg of the
journey and rejoin the tail end of the group as they came back exhausted from Fairview.
At one stage we even had army trainers and runners from Clonliff Harriers to guide us.
Training one night a week for all teams meant that the club administrators could get a better
handle on the members. It also meant that all players got to know each other very well. All of
this changed when we switched to training Monday to Friday in our present clubhouse in 1983.
Some of the older members feel that the club lost some of its soul with the switch to our new
and improved facilities. Certainly the club became more disjointed. The various committees
found it much more difficult to coordinate discipline and standards in the club. This
culminated in one team flying solo, to the extent that they even had a different set of jerseys
to the rest of the club.

Football in the early years

As mentioned earlier our first gear was
yellow. Once we joined the DDSL we
switched to tangerine jerseys, with short
sleeves and huge numbers. The numbers
were so large that often they could not
be distinguished as they were tucked
down into the shorts. It is thought that
tangerine was selected because at that
time no other clubs played in that colour.
The shorts were black and the woollen
socks were black with a red top.
Initially only ten jerseys (plus a goalkeeper’s jersey) were issued to each team. This was
because no substitutes were allowed. Teams carried a panel of fourteen players, but this
meant that if they all turned up three of them did not even tog out. If a player got badly
injured the team played on with ten players, despite three members of the squad being
available on the sideline. What an injustice!!
It was only in the late 1960s that the first long sleeved jerseys appeared. In later years our
jerseys were famous (or infamous) for having tiny numbers on the back.
The footballs were laced and very heavy, even before they absorbed loads of water on a wet day.
Many players saw stars when they headed the lace of a ball on a cold, wet afternoon.
Remarkably there were no goal nets; the referees had better eyesight then. Very often the
pitches were not even marked.

Road leagues
From the very earliest days Parish leagues were organised for six weeks during the summer
months. Teams were drawn from the local streets and areas and matches were played in the
evenings in Ellenfield Park. Originally Maurice Coffey enlisted the help of a number of people
to distribute forms in each area.
In an era where the vast majority of the club was locally based (for a long time it was forbidden
to sign players from outside the parish) rivalry at the road leagues was intense. Initially the
teams were selected from under 13 to under 18s. There were some serious skirmishes and wars

17
 of attrition both during and often after games. In particular there was great rivalry between
Ellenfield and Larkhill and for several years there was murder when Larkhill Upper was playing
against Larkhill Lower.
While they were originally set up as parish road leagues they eventually morphed into club
organised road leagues. At times the crowds totally surrounded the pitch and frequently
games had to be stopped to ask spectators to move back outside the white lines.
The road leagues were a great source of new players. Managers would be ever vigilant to see
what new talent might appear in their age group. Managers of road leagues teams were
adept at stretching the boundaries in order to include star players from farther afield. Indeed
in 1960 the Santry under 14 team surprisingly beat Shanowen. Unknown to the organisers the
Santry team included a few imports from Swords (and possibly beyond). In particular the
goalkeeper was superb. His application form indicated that he was the son of Eugene O’Reilly,
the owner of the pub now called the Swiss Cottage. You can imagine Maurice Coffey’s
annoyance when he called the parents to sign the new superstar only to be told their son was
not playing in the road leagues.
It was from the road leagues that the club recruited new managers. Any parent or half-mature
individual who showed any enthusiasm got a tap on the shoulder and was told (not asked)
that he was the new manager of a particular team.
The original road leagues presentations were held in venues such as the School for the Blind
in Drumcondra and the Busmen’s Hall in the city centre. Later the presentations were made by
a local celebrity on the second Sunday in July, the traditional date for the finals.
For many young boys the road leagues was their only involvement with organised sport. We
have often been regaled by stories of those whose only sporting trophy was a road leagues
medal. Such a medal was a bauble more treasured than a world cup winner’s medal.
In recent years the age groups have got younger and younger. There is no longer a demand for
road leagues from those over about twelve years of age. With SKY TV, live premiership matches
and champions league football in every household it is no longer ‘cool’ to play in road leagues.
Another factor that reduces the appeal is the lack of local involvement. This results from our
membership being drawn from a wider base so that many players are no longer associated
with the street on which they live.
However the appeal of the road leagues continues with the players (and the parents and
grandparents) of the younger age groups. Refereeing road leagues matches became so fraught
that we have had to introduce ‘official’ referees.

St Kevin’s Boys
v Tramore Athletic
August 1965

18
St Kevin’s Boys Club
Celebrat ing 50 Years 1959 - 2009

19
 Committees
When the club had only one or two teams it could run efficiently without the need for formal
meetings. By the early 60s there was a need to coordinate our efforts and a structure was put
on our affairs.
From the early days we always had two main committees: the officers or executive committee
who met weekly and the management committee or Board of Directors which met monthly.
The first meetings took place in the pavilion in Ellenfield (which has been modernised since
then). There was no electricity or heating and light was provided by paraffin Tilley lamps. One
of the early treasurer’s reports showed that the club had overspent by six old pence (about two
pence in today’s money). The loss was due to the money spent on methylated spirits for the
lamp. Ken O’Brien and Paddy (Whacker) Horgan were the first pavilion managers.
In the late 1960s our committee meetings were held in the Four
Winds. This was located in the basement of a building in Parnell
Square (it is now a photography studio close to the present teachers
club). Along with a meeting room with light and heat this premises
also had dart boards, rings and a pool table. It was also used by a
group in the club called the St Christopher’s (which is documented
elsewhere by Derek Bauer).
Getting in and out of town for meetings was proving to be too
difficult so in the 70s we moved to the Greenfield Community
Centre in Shanowen for a brief time. We later relocated to an old
cottage, called the Den, located in the grounds of the Bishop’s Palace
in Drumcondra. This cottage was accessed from a laneway opposite
Kennedy’s pub. The cottage was old, derelict, damp and cramped.
It had light and was heated (badly) by a Super Ser heater.
Many of the present officers of the club can recall training in the
park in front of Tolka Park from six to eight at night. Then it was a
quick run to Fagan’s pub to wash some of the muck off your hands
before heading to the Den for a meeting from eight to ten thirty or
eleven. Were we mad or what?
By the late 70s, having briefly met in the back of the church, we had
progressed to meeting in the Penthouse Suite of the Airport Hotel
(now the Regency). This was luxury indeed. Unfortunately such
luxury had to be paid for and this necessitated a financial contribution from each member to
offset the rental costs and the provision of tea and biscuits.
Once we moved to the clubhouse in 1983 our meetings could be held on our own premises, at
no cost to the sitting members. Around this time the structure of the club changed for legal
reasons and we became a limited company under the guidance of a Board of Directors.
However our new structure mirrored the old structure, thanks in no small part to the doubting
mind of Michael (Gigga) Madden RIP.

St Kevin’s Boys
2nd Team in the 70s
Back row left to right:
Paddy Daly Sr.,
Stephen Walsh,
Shay Giles,
Brendan Gorman,
Mick O’Dwyer,
Noel Snell,
A N Other,
Gary Reilly and
Mick O’Callaghan
Front row left to right:
Brian Reid,
Noel Garland,
Paul Dolan,
Andy Dunne,
Noel Carroll and
Peter O’Reilly

20
 St Kevin’s Boys Club
Celebrat ing 50 Years 1959 - 2009

Phases in our development

The administration of the club could be roughly considered under three stages. Firstly there
were the founding fathers that started the club and developed its philosophy and ethos.
A second wave of leaders came along in the 1970s to support the likes of Maurice Coffey, Des
Lawlor and TJ Kileen. This wave of new blood included Alex McQueen, John Kelly, Brendan
Bermingham, Brian Reid, Pat Daly and Michael O’Callaghan. These, with the help of so many
more, saw the club develop its own clubhouse. This changed the nature of the club and
provided us with a base from which to kick on.
Finally by the mid 1990s the club was firmly established in our own clubhouse. A FÁS scheme
had been inaugurated to help in cleaning and maintaining the premises. By this time the club
St Kevin’s Boys had acquired the site for our present pitch and all weather training ground. Senior figures
The old and not such as Alex McQueen, John Kelly, Noel Hayden and Des Havelin were replaced by the likes of
so old Billy McCormac, Peter Murray, the return of Des Lawlor and Michael O’Callaghan while Brendan
Left to right: Bermingham, Pat Daly and Brian Reid provided continuity.
Brendan Bermingham,
The last ten years or so have seen the development of our own pitch and all weather training
Maurice Coffey,
Michael O’Callaghan ground and a renewed effort to upgrade all matters relating to football standards in the club.
and Bishop This involved providing coaching courses for our managers, the redevelopment of the pavilions
Des Williams in Ellenfield Park, the formation of our academy and close cooperation with the coaching
structures of an associated professional club in England, the appointment of a club coach
(initially Pat Cleary, later Paul Boyle and now Alan Caffrey) and an increased emphasis on our
premier teams.
While much of this was driven by the executive officers (fully supported by the Board of
Directors) the process was given further impetus when Ken Donohue was appointed as
Director of Football in 2000. In recent years others such as Paul Dolan and Brian Halpin have
given great support to the modernisation of the club.
However the one name that stands out as a link from the early days to the late 80s was
Maurice Coffey. While many people gave great support and commitment to the club, Maurice
stood head and shoulders above all. His life was devoted on an almost constant basis to
organising and running the club. It was he who held the club together, organising managers,
road leagues, camps and finances. The club truly owes a huge debt of gratitude to Maurice
Coffey.
An article such as this can only touch on the main brush strokes in the development of a large
club such as ours. Those named above were led, trained, guided and helped by a large number
of others. While not named here many others have made huge contributions in terms of time,
effort and dedication to making the club what it is today.

Highs and lows on the field

While the club exists to provide football and a social outlet for young people we also attempt
to provide winning teams. Over the years the club has been stretched to accommodate both
of these aims at the same time. The yardstick used for great teams must be those that won All
Ireland competitions or who had prolonged success over many years in local competitions.
The exploits of these teams are dealt with in detail by Billy McCormac elsewhere in this
publication.
The first great era in our footballing history would have been associated with the 13C team
that came together under the guidance of Des Lawlor in 1967. This team, which included Liam
Brady and Pat Daly, went on to win the under 15 All Ireland in 1970. This victory helped to
establish the credentials of the club a s a serious footballing force for the first time.
Another team that helped raise our profile was the first senior team run by the likes of Jack
Loftus and Tom Sneyd. This team won leagues and cups year after year in the Amateur League
(and also provided many of the managers for our schoolboy teams).
In 1980 another top class St Kevin’s side emerged to win our second All Ireland under 15. This
side was managed by Jimmy McMullan. They went on to win their second All Ireland (this time
under 16) the following year, 1981. This side continued to win domestic leagues and cups over
the next number of years. In fact many of these players went on to form the backbone of our
very successful senior squad in the 1990s.

21